National Weather Service Employees Organization

NWSFreezes Lead Forecaster PromotionsUnion Files Grievance

(March 14, 2013) NWSEO has learned that in January the NWS secretly froze filling all pending lead forecaster vacancies without notice to the union or the applicants. On January 10, vacancy announcements for five lead forecaster vacancies closed, and on January 28, four other vacancies closed. Under the NOAA 80-day Hiring Model, the applications were to be reviewed and selection certificates sent to selecting officials within 11 days thereafter. However, on Wednesday, March 13, NWSEO learned that no review of the applications was ever conducted. NWSEO has also learned that there are at least an additional 12 lead forecaster vacancies across the country for which recruitment actions have not begun or were frozen at an early stage.

NWSEO has filed a grievance over this matter with the new NWS Director Louis Uccellini, demanding that these positions be filled immediately and that the selectees be given back pay. The grievance alleges that the NWS violated agreements negotiated with NWSEO in 1993 and 1997 to have five lead forecasters at each WFO.

Management's response to this grievance will be an early indication of whether the new NWS Director will seek to improve relations with NWSEO and NWS employees and honor the agency's labor commitments, or whether he will continue the trend started two years ago to dismantle the NWS by reducing its workforce.